Corsair sets sail for high-end audio, with surprising results

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We began testing with games, because that's really the sector the SP2500 is designed to compete in, and found a level of immersion you'd usually hear only with a dedicated hi-fi amp-and-speaker setup.

Mass Effect 2's superb ambient soundtrack, coupled with its sharp combat soundscape, is tremendously immersive through the SP2500; separate sounds are properly distinguishable, and the sense of spatial placement is excellent.

Likewise, World of Warcraft's super-detailed audio environments jump to life; just walking around the Alliance capital city of Stormwind is a pleasure, with the clank of blacksmithery and the clop of hoof on cobble nudging at you from the environment. It really adds to the atmosphere.

The SP2500 is great for music too. Most of us have our music libraries on our PCs these days, and the sense of crisp separation the setup offers applies equally to different genres of music.

Run a high-bitrate recording of 'Mars: Bringer of War' from Holst's The Planets suite, and you'll hear what we mean.

The heart-plucking horn sections rise with a breathtaking richness, and the crescendos are almost frightening in their intensity and richness.

Daft Punk's Tron Legacy soundtrack drives the setup's sub as hard as you like, and with the bass cranked right up, you feel cinematic, organ-wobbling levels of bass that simply do not distort no matter high you crank the volume.

The money-shot, for when friends come visiting, is '528491' from Hans Zimmer's Inception soundtrack, with its traffic-stopping WOM-WOMs.

The backlit desktop control unit offers a suite of equaliser options, and different audio sources do benefit from some tinkering to find the most suitable soundstage.

In fact, our only real niggle is with the controller: the viewing angle of the screen is pretty poor, and you're always going to be looking at it from an oblique angle.

It's certainly not a problem when you're simply adjusting bass and volume levels with the dial, though, which is all the interaction you really have with the unit when you're gaming.

The SP2500 will set you back £200, but we can say without reservation that, as soon as you get them up and running, you'll feel completely justified.

The Gaming Audio Series SP2500 high-power 2.1 PC speaker system is the product of a design philosophy that embraces the importance of clean, detailed audio reproduction - not just for games, but for movies and music as well.

Building a great PC speaker system is more than about giving you room-shaking power. You also need optimal imaging and positional accuracy, and sonic depth and detail.

Since you have only one speaker system, you don't want to make compromises. That's why we've created the SP2500.